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Is a Fifth Fundamental Force Holding the Cosmos Together?

Physicists may have discovered a fifth fundamental force of nature that could explain some of the mysteries surrounding dark matter.

Is a Fifth Fundamental Force Holding the Cosmos Together?

[DIGEST: Phys.org, Los Angeles Times, Space.com]

When Hungarian theoretical particle physicists detected a radioactive decay anomaly in a series of experiments, they published a paper in 2015 suggesting those anomalies pointed to the existence of dark photons. These theoretical force carriers have never been detected, and might indicate unseen dark matter (so-called because it neither absorbs nor emits light, and so is impossible to detect directly) – which could help researchers understand why the universe is filled with dark matter. Or maybe, said a group of American physicists who reviewed the Hungarians’ research in 2016, this is actually the signature of a fifth fundamental force.

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